What the M.P.s were saying User-pays priciple v. urban bus proposals

Press, 25 October 1982, Page 2

What the M.P.s were saying User-pays priciple v. urban bus proposals

Parliamentary reporter Labour speakers were complaining that lurking in the background of the Urban Transport Bill was the fact that metropolitan ratepayers would pay twice, said Mr D. L. Kidd (Nat.. Marlborough). These speakers needed a message from provincial New Zealand — people paid their taxes and got themselves to work at their own expense. They had always done this in the provinces, and the last thing they wanted was for the Government to subsidise their personal transport. Mr Kidd said. On what basis did the people in the cities demand that the rest of the people in the country pay for them to have cheap rides to work? The user-pays principal was the only proper and valid principle. Mr Kidd said. Development The Government had been bad for the South Island and the regions, and was following a policy of a few major developments to ensure that the whole country moved forward, said Mr T. K. Burke (Lab.. West Coast). Labour rejected the Government's policy that New Zealand's development should take place at the “think big" level, on the basis that when benefits came they would trickle down to the regions.

“Think big" meant national development for Whangarei and New Plymouth, but precious little for any other region, he said. Poor response Schemes that contain no financial inducement to encourage people to remove appliances that pollute, and move towards clean air, had fallen flat, said Mr D. F. Caygill (Lab.. St Albans), during the third reading of the Clean Air Amendment Bill. Of the $400,000 loan money available, $lBOO had been picked up by September 30. Eight loans had been granted in six months. That scarcely sounded like progress, he said, but it was still early days. Still, in the six months in Christchurch that eight people had needed to borrow money to put in electric heaters. 40 people had put in coal-fired appliances, and 800 had put in wood-fired appliances. All of them met the clean air standards. Mr Caygill said. Superannuation The aim of the Laboursponsored Superannuation Amendment Bill No. 2 was to remove an injustice, said Mr P. T. E. Woollaston (Lab., Nelson). It would restore the dis-

cretion that lay with the Social Security Commission so that it could consider the circumstances and natural justice of each application for the payment of superannuation w’hen someone had stayed overseas more than two weeks beyond the 13week limit for which payment was permitted. There were plenty of examples where people had been detained unavoidably overseas, he said. One superannuitant. who had merely missed a connection, had been required to repay almost $lOOO to the department. Mr D. F. Quigley (Nat.. Rangiora) acknowledged that there were cases of genuine need where superannuitants overseas had been denied payments because they had stayed longer than 13 weeks. However, the Superannuation Amendment Bill No. 2 proposed by Labour would not just satisfy people in genuine need. It would throw’ a whole group of people something that would cost $7 million. $lO million or $12.5 million — Labour speakers seemed unsure which — and which amounted to a scatter-gun waste of money. Agent Orange The Government would ensure that the victims oi Agent Orange — if there were victims — got every

support that the health services could give, said Mr P. R. Burdon (Nat.. Fendalton). To suggest as a Government and as a people that New Zealand would not ensure that any victims were not given the full benefit of all the medical facilities available was “scaremongering." Insinuations to that effect by the Labour Party were a distortion, he said. FM radio Lack of South Island interest in short-term FM radio warrants has been criticised by the Minister ol Broadcasting. Dr Shearer. He said South Island interests had made a number of approaches about FM radio, but he was surprised there had been none for short-term warrants. The South Island ought to “get into gear" and apply for short-term warrants to give listeners in the South Island the chance to hear FM radio. Dr Shearer said. Six groups had applied for short-term warrants this year — Bay of Plenty Radio. Hauraki Enterprises in Auckland, Capital City Radio in Wellington, the Broadcasting Corporation, and Victoria and Massey Universities. “It is quite clear, at this stage anyway, that there seems to be no great interest coming from the South Island for FM," he said.